This invention relates generally to a system for coupling a touchpad-based keyboard to a portable electronic appliance, wherein the system includes providing physical support for the portable electronic appliance when coupled to the touchpad keyboard, and interchangeable connectors that enable a plurality of different portable electronic appliances to be coupled to the same touchpad keyboard.
The prior art of portable keyboards that can be coupled to portable electronic appliances includes mechanical keyboards. These mechanical keyboards apparently are of two different designs. The first design is generally smaller than a normal desktop-type keyboard, but is considered to be portable, or to at least be capable of being connected to a portable electronic appliance. The keys are discrete but small mechanical buttons, and so the design of the keyboard is simply smaller than a standard keyboard. It should be mentioned that the portable electronic devices include personal digital assistants (PDAs).
The next type of portable keyboard design is more mechanically complex than a miniaturized keyboard described above because it is designed to be more portable. The complexity comes from the desire to enable the keyboard to collapse so that it can be carried more easily. A collapsing keyboard is one that can be folded to a relatively compact shape. For example, a collapsible keyboard of the prior art will fold to make four different sections. The sections are relatively thin, but when stacked on top of each other in a folded position, the thickness is often greater than the thickness of even the largest PDA.
The collapsible keyboards are also mechanical in nature. That is, the buttons are mechanical, but generally larger than the keys found in a non-collapsible keyboard. This is because the ability to fold enables the keyboard to assume larger dimensions when unfolded into a usable position than the non-collapsible keyboards.
It has been observed that despite the proliferation of portable electronic devices, there are generally no standard interfaces to them. Furthermore, the interfaces, even along a product line of a single company continue to evolve. Thus, a portable keyboard must be designed specifically for each type of portable electronic device. This can become expensive for a purchaser and the manufacturer. This also reduces the ability of the manufacturer to respond to market demands because an entire keyboard must be manufactured, instead of taking an existing keyboard and providing an adapter that is specific to the portable electronic device.
Thus, it would be an advantage over the prior art to provide a single portable keyboard that was adaptable for use with a plurality of different portable electronic devices by providing an adapter.
It is also the case that the prior art portable mechanical keyboards are relatively large when compared to the size of the portable electronic device to which they are coupled.
Accordingly, it would be another advantage to provide a smaller portable keyboard that can be used with the plurality of different portable electronic devices, through the use of the adapter.
It is also noted that the portable mechanical keyboards of the prior art are generally more susceptible to breaking than a standard desktop keyboard. This is probably a function of the environment in which the keyboards operate. In other words, a portable device is going to be knocked around and receive rougher treatment than a stationary keyboard.
Accordingly, it would be another advantage to provide a keyboard input device for use with the adapters that is not as susceptible to damage as are the portable keyboards that have mechanical keys.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector and physical support system that enables a portable touchpad keyboard to be used with a plurality of different portable electronic appliances.
It is another object to provide a connector and support system that enables the portable touchpad keyboard to be used with the plurality of different portable electronic appliances by using an appropriate adapter selected from a plurality of adapters.
It is another object to provide a connector and physical support system that lowers costs for using a portable touchpad keyboard with a plurality of different portable electronic appliances by providing a portable touchpad keyboard that can be used with all of the portable electronic appliances.
It is another object to provide a connector and physical support system that provides a modified pin connector in the adapter that couples the portable touchpad keyboard to the portable electronic appliance.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is an adapter that electrically couples a portable touchpad keyboard to a portable electronic appliance, wherein the adapter couples a proprietary connector of a portable electronic appliance to an interface of the portable touchpad keyboard through a modified pin connector assembly, and wherein the portable touchpad keyboard also includes a physical support assembly on a bottom portion thereof, wherein the support assembly is unfolded and extended partway therefrom to thereby provide a physical support area on which to rest the portable electronic appliance, wherein the support assembly is unfolded in order to extend the support assembly far enough away from the portable touchpad keyboard to thereby support portable electronic appliances whose physical dimensions are relatively long when compared to a width of the portable touchpad keyboard.
In a first aspect of the invention, the modified pin connection is comprised of a saddle mount connector for coupling an adapter to an electronic circuit board of the portable touchpad keyboard.
In a second aspect of the invention, the saddle mount connector includes a tuning fork pin which couples the adapter to the PC board at a right angle.
In a third aspect of the invention, the support assembly pivots outward away from the underside of the portable touchpad keyboard to thereby extend itself beneath the portable electronic appliance, and thereby form a triangular support system.
These and other objects, features, advantages and alternative aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in combination with the accompanying drawings.